Spilling the Beans

Yesterday we told the kids about our trip to Southern California. We decided to have a Family Home Evening of ice cream cones at Casper's and brainstorming fun things to do this summer. Henry was a little upset that I didn't sign him up for the sports camp that he did last year and William kept talking about going to the beach so we decided to tell them. It was kind of funny - they came up with going to California on their own because, according to Henry, "it's sunny there", as if we are perpetually shrouded in fog and gloom. Anyway, we told them that we would be seeing their California cousins. It literally took Henry 3 minutes (we timed it) to ask if we could see the Anaheim Angels play baseball, preferably against the NY Yankees. He was overjoyed when we told him that we ordered tickets to a game months ago. William was excited about the beach - he wants to collect seashells. Funnily enough, no one seems that jazzed about Disneyland. William said that "princesses live there" so "it's not in my interest" (and yes, that's a direct quote from him). But we told him that Disneyland was so much more than princesses and that we would have a blast.

So it's out in the open. No more hiding Disneyland guidebooks in the closet or shutting down internet sites when one of the kids walks in the room. If you have any tips or must-sees at Disneyland, feel free to share. Jay and I tend to overthink things but we do want to have a game plan of sorts so we don't walk in the park and have our heads start spinning as we ask each other "what should we do first?" I've reserved a table for Tessa and I to have a Princess Luncheon at Ariel's Grotto in DCA (that's Disney's California Adventure to those in the know, according to my trusty guidebooks) and we have a general idea of all the rides we want to cover. We will stay late one night for sure to do the fireworks. We're getting a multi-day pass because they are having a deal on them and we figure it will give us some flexibility to maybe do an extra half day at the parks on Friday (the day we go to the baseball game) or even hit the park the first evening we are at the hotel, just to check it out and get our bearings. We'll see.

Our first family vacation with children. Driving. To California. In a minivan. With three kids under age 8. Wish us luck!